Top Artistes Dominating the African Rap Scene Right Now

Rap is a popular musical genre in Africa. Despite the fact that Afrobeat is the continent's most popular sound, African rappers continue to gain international attention. Popular record labels such as Sony and Def Jam are making inroads into the continent in search of new rap talent.

Rap music includes poetry and rhythm, which is often spoken quickly and in style. Its origins can be traced back to the early 1960s in the United States of America, more specifically among blacks. Since then, it has evolved and been exported to nearly every country. It is so popular that you will always fall in love with its punchlines.

In no particular order, listed below are great talented rap artist doing incredibly well in and beyond the shores of Africa;

Nasty C

Nsikayesizwe Nasty C, also known as David Junior Ngcobo, is arguably the best rapper in South Africa and the best rapper in Africa 2022. Nasty C is also the continent's first rapper to sign with Def Jam and Universal Music Group.

He’s been effective since 2013 and was the youngest rapper to win an award, which includes the L Best Freshman Award 2015, Best New Artist, Best Male Album, and Best Hip Hop Album 2017.

The rapper from Durban has a varied discography. Nasty C's four albums and one mixtape demonstrate his lyrical versatility.

Nasty C is a skilled rapper in addition to his global fame. For example, Tim Westwood TV's freestyle from 2018 is arguably one of the channel's best sessions.

Nasty C top Songs include Phases, Allow, Legendary, Sma, Black and White Featuring Ari and Lennox.

Khaligraph Jones

Khaligraph Jones makes the list of the best rappers of 2022 due to his talent. Despite having been in the industry for a decade, the rapper only became a continental superstar in 2016. Khaligraph has since demonstrated his writing prowess, particularly when scouting African talent. Aside from his large fan base, Khaligraph is one of the best African rappers due to his wordplay and writing style. Furthermore, the Kenyan rapper has an intelligent way of telling stories.

Testimony ft. Sagini, Jun Ya Ngori, Yes Bana ft. Good, Hao ft. Masauti, and 987 Wavy ft. Sarkodie are among the top Khaligraphs songs.

Cassper Nyovest

Nyovest was born on December 16, 1990. "Impact Sounds" is his most recent music label. He has been active since 2004. He has received numerous awards, including Channel O Music Video Awards (2014), Metro FM Awards (2015), MTV Africa Music Awards (2015, 2016), South Africa Music Awards (2015, 2017 and 2019), and WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards (2016).

Casper Nyovest's most popular songs include Tsholofelo, Refileo, Thuto, Sweet and Short, and Any Minute Now.

Sho Madjozi

Sho Madjozi is a well-known South African rapper. Sho has risen to prominence thanks to the internet and her most popular song to date, John Cena. The hit song allowed the young artist to tour the world and launch her career. Sho Madjozi's work ethic is unrivaled, especially considering she has only been in the commercial music industry for less than five years. Sho is well-known for her ability to blend Swahili and English. Her bubblegum lyrics make her songs humorous and memorable.

Falz

Folarin Falana is Falz's full name. He is a Nigerian rapper, composer, and actor. He is a hip-hop artist known for his distinct rap style. His songs are full of wit and blended traditional indigenous Nigerian sounds with modern sounds.

Falz, is a versatile rapper, Unlike most rappers in Africa, he is not afraid to use indigenous sounds in his work. While this approach to creating music has worked against some talented rappers, Falz has completed an alternative rap sound.

Falz has been an active musician for decades, his eureka moment happened when he recreated This Is America by the American rapper Childish Gambino. This is Nigeria was not only entertaining but an essential piece of activism.

Phyno

Phyno is a Nigerian rapper who began making music in 2003. In 2014, the artist became a continental star after gaining a massive following in his home country.

He has been active since 2003 and has received numerous awards, including three Headies Awards for Best Collaboration (Ghost Mode ft. Olamide and Best Rap Single Man of the Year, both 2013), Best Rap Single (Parcel 2014), Nigerian Entertainment Awards (Best Collabo, 2013), and City People Entertainment Awards (Best Rap Single, 2014). (Rap Artist of the Year, 2014).

Kwesi Arthur

Kwesi Arthur's notable works in the rap industry make him one of the top rappers on the continent. Also, he is considered one of the biggest names in Ghana’s entertainment industry. His remarkable rapping prowess even got him a nomination to the BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher, becoming the second ever to get the nomination in the country.

His Popular tracks are: Grind Day (2017), Don’t Keep Me Waiting ft. Kidi (2018), Anthem (2018), Zombi (2019), Nobody ft. Mr. Eazi (2019), Baajo (2020), Walk ft. Nasty C (2021)

Jovi

Ndukong Godlove Nfor AKA as Jovi, is a Cameroonian rapper, songwriter, sound engineer, entrepreneur, and record producer (under his producer pseudonym Le Monstre). Jovi holds a BA Hons in Economics and Business Management from the University of Yaoundé II (Soa).

Jovi's debut album H.I.V (Humanity is Vanishing) was described by Kangsen Feka Wakai in Bakwa magazine as “the long awaited arrival of a self-assured emcee very conscious of his abilities, the vacuum in the genre, his audience’s expectations, and the right dose of hustle to assert his place.

Roma Mkatoliki

Ibrahim Mussa, also known as Roma Mkatoliki, is a Tanzanian rapper. He is a member of the duo rap group ROSTAM. However, they have done a lot of solo projects in the last two years. Zimbabwe, his most popular song, was heavily played on continental music channels such as MTV and Channel O. Roma has since released solo projects as well as collaborations with Khaligraph and Lady Jay Dee.

Popular tracks: Kijiwe Nongwa ft. Nay Wa Mitego (2019), Hivi ama Vile (2017), Parapanda (2018), Kaka Tuchati, Itoke remix ft. Mauasama (2020), Zimbabwe (2017)

Speedo

The Sierra Leone-based rapper is making waves in the HipHop music scene; he is the type of artist whose name cannot be mentioned in any HipHop conversation.

From the creation of his work to the level of lyrism, this young rapper is multi-talented, versatile, flexible, and the only renowned bar-king. In the short time since he began making music, he has already raised the bar for every other rapper of his generation.

Wildly regarded by his fans and music fans as Africa's fastest rapper, the Talk of Town rapper is about to surprise you with a collaboration with Khaligraph Jones, a Kenyan rapper best known for his hit singles "Mazishi" and "Yego."

Get the facts straight, it's now undeniably true that Speedo'o, the young rapper from Sierra Leone, is one of the most respected rappers in Africa today, and he's well on his way to becoming synonymous with African hip hop.

His single, 'Gran Pa,' dominated the airwaves and was the most talked-about track for weeks.